How Rothenburg ob der Tauber survived two devastating Wars
Overlooking the wooded, orchard and vineyard clad, slopes of the valley of the Tauber River in Bavaria, lies the fairy tale town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Cobbled streets and half-timbered houses, wrought iron shop signs, steepled churches, lofty walls, towers and fortified gates, typify the old towns of central and western Europe. In few places, however, are they as well represented as in Rothenburg, where most of the buildings date to before 1400.
From its origins as a Hohenstaufen (German dynasty of kings and emperors) fortress in the 12th century, Rothenburg became a free imperial city from 1274 to 1803. This meant that Rothenburg was subject only to the authority of the Holy Roman Emperor, as opposed to one of the plethora of semi-autonomous principalities that made up the Holy Roman Empire. The town profited from its location at the intersection of the trade routes from Prague to Paris and Hamburg to Venice.
During the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), Europe was divided into Protestant and Catholic factions. Rothenburg, which was Protestant, placed itself under the protection of Sweden, which led the Protestants against the Catholic Habsburg dynasty of the Holy Roman Empire. The chief battlegrounds of the war were in central Europe. Armies of mercenaries plundered and devastated the land. Up to half the population between Pomerania on the Baltic Sea and the Black Forest in southwest Germany, was killed in the fighting or succumbed to starvation and disease.
On October 28, 1631, the Catholic League forces of Imperial General Johann Tserclaes, Count of Tilly, besieged Rothenburg with 60,000 troops. Tilly demanded its surrender. Hoping to be saved by the Swedish forces currently at Würzburg, Rothenburg refused. Although the city repulsed the imperial assaults, the revelation that an approaching contingent of troops consisted not of the hoped for Swedish relief forces, but of imperial reinforcements, induced the city to surrender.
Rothenburg’s mayor and dignitaries were sentenced to death by Tilly, who gave the town over to plunder for his troops. According to folklore, the town Rat (council) tried to placate Tilly’s wrath by giving him a 3 liter (three quarts) pitcher of wine. The 72-year-old Count of Tilly deliberated as he took a few sips, then issued a dare; “if one of you has the courage to step forward and down this mug of wine in one gulp, then I shall spare the town and the lives of the councilmen!” A former mayor, Georg Nusch, accepted the challenge and downed the wine in what became known as Der Meistertrunk, “The Master Gulp,” saving the city. However, Der Meistertrunk is not mentioned in contemporary accounts of the siege. The real reason for Tilly’s mercy was probably a large sum of money offered by the Rat. Neither did the town survive the Thirty Years War unscathed, being sacked several times and thereafter fading into obscurity.
The legend of Der Meistertrunk first appeared in an early 19th century history of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. With the advent of the Romantic movement in Germany, sleepy Rothenburg, forgotten by progress and time, was rediscovered. Poets and painters found inspiration in the town’s quaint medieval buildings and idyllic landscapes.
In 1881, Der Meistertrunk was turned into a play by the local poet Adam Hörber and ever since has been performed at Rothenburg on Whitsuntide (Pentecost). Der Meistertrunk became a colorful part of the town’s charm and folklore; which was to help save it some three hundred years later when another devastating war came home to Germany.
In the spring of 1945, World War II was nearing its fateful conclusion in Europe. Squeezed between the overwhelming might of the Western Allies and the Soviets, advancing from west and east, respectively, the remnants of the armies of the Third Reich made a hopeless stand to defend the German homeland. With his Nazi empire in its last gasps, the Führer, Adolf Hitler, had ordered all towns to fight to the bitter end.
At the end of March, the 386th Bombardment Group of the U. S. Ninth Air Force were on their way to bomb German oil storage facilities at Ebrach, in Upper Franconia, some 100 km to the north of Rothenburg. When the airstrike on Ebrach was canceled due to fog in the area, Rothenburg was selected as an alternate target. On March 31, 16 planes of the 386th Bombardment group released their bombs onto Rothenburg of der Tauber. Thirty-seven people were killed and 306 private houses were destroyed, alongside 6 public buildings, 9 watchtowers and 2,000 feet (610 m) of the wall. Forty percent of the original preserved structures lay in ruin.
Even worse destruction lay ahead- should the town be fought over. The city was held by the remnants of the 79th Volksgrenadier Division, part of Kampfgruppe (battle group) “Hummel” fighting in the Rothenburg area. The Kampfgruppe in turn was part of the Thirteenth SS Army Corps. The corps commander, SS-General Max Simon, had given orders to defend against any enemy attacks. Advancing against Simon’s sector was the US Seventh Army of the 6th Army Group.
John J. McCloy, the U. S. Assistant Secretary of War, was at the headquarters of General Jacob Devers, commander of the 6th Army Group. Shown the plans for the upcoming attack on Rothenburg, McCloy saw that the town was to be placed under the heaviest artillery fire. Although McCloy had never visited Rothenburg himself, his mother had done so in the early 1900s. Listing to his mother’s descriptions and delighted by a painting of Rothenburg in their house, the boy McCloy developed a fondness for the medieval town. McCloy asked Devers to consider what a shame it would be, in the last days of the war, to destroy a town of such historical significance and beauty. McCloy told Devers the story of Der Meistertrunk and the role of the town in the Thirty Years War. Devers replied without hesitation, that it was not necessary to destroy the town, and gave the orders to negotiate for its surrender.
On April 16, a six-man-truce party of the Twelfth Infantry Regiment, US 4th Infantry Division, approached the German defensive lines surrounding Rothenburg. Carrying a white flag, the party crossed into enemy territory to negotiate Rothenburg’s handover from the German troops. Among them was Stars & Stripes correspondent William M. Dwyer. According to Dwyer’s recollection, the truce party entered a valley where there was a firefight going on. After nearly three hours they met up with Oberstleutnant (lieutenant-colonel) Fritz Thömmes, a regimental commander of the 79th Volksgrenadier Division, charged with the defense of Rothenburg.
The Americans made it clear to Thömmes, that if Rothenburg was not surrendered peacefully then it would be leveled to the ground. Thömmes personally agreed with the Americans, but did not have the authority to hand over the city. Thömmes insisted on a cease fire, during which he would ask for formal permission to abandon the town. Thömmes not only gave orders to his troops for a cease fire, but also withdrew them from the town. He then went to report to his superior at Nürnberg (Nuremburg). Thömmes actions allowed the American troops to occupy the city the next morning on April 17 without a battle.
For his role in the truce party, Dwyer was awarded the Bronze Star. In 1948, a grateful Rothenburg named McCloy a patron and honorary citizen. Dwyer was likewise honored when he visited the town as a tourist in 1951. Dwyer had his name entered into Rothenburg’s Golden Book. Thömmes declined any honors for the saving the city. On April 8, 1950, Thömmes wrote to Oberbürgermeister (Major) Hörner: “I only did what my conscience and my sense of responsibility told me to do given the situation at the time.”
Donations for the rebuilding of Rothenburg came in from all over the world. Plaques commemorating its generous contributors are set in its town walls. Located along Germany’s famous Romantic Road, Rothenburg ob der Tauber flourishes as an international tourist attraction. Two and a half million tourists visit the town each year. Among them are a million Americans and Japanese, who make up Rothenburg’s largest foreign contingents. Rothenburg owns it good fortune, in no small part, to an American who fell in love with its pictures and tales as a boy, a German who had the courage to defy orders, and, perhaps, even thanks to a legendary gulp of wine!
Feature Image: The Plönlein, or “little square,” at the intersection of Kobolzeller Steige and Spitalgasse. L. Dyck. 2023.
L. Dyck
Sources
“386th Bombardment Group,” Army Air Corps Museum, armyaircorpsmuseum.org, “Brief History of the City,” Rothenburg ob der Tauber, rothenburg.de, CSI Battlebook 13-D, The Battle of Nuremberg, Durant Imboden, “Rothenburg ob der Tauber, europeforvisitors.com, Florian Huggenberger, “Rothenburger Meistertrunk,” Historisches Lexikon Bayers, historisches-lexikon-bayerns.de, Jason Daley, “Researchers Catalogue the Grizzly Deaths of Soldiers in the Thirty Years War,” Smithsonian Magazine, smithsonianmag.com, Marc Di Duca et al, “Germany,” Lonely Planet, 8th Edition, 2016, Rick Steves, “Germany’s Medieval Walled Town of Rothenburg,” classroom.ricksteves.com, Rothenburg Museum, Information Panel,The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica, “Imperial City,” “Rothenburg ob der Tauber,” Encyclopedia Britannica, britannica.com, Von Wolf Stegemann, “Rothenburg unterm Hakenkreuz,” rothenburg-unterm-hakenkreuz.de, Walter Isaacson and Evan Thomas, “The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made,” Simon & Schuster, 1997, William Dwyer Obituary, Legacy.co.
Ludwig H. Dyck's Historical Writings 